Workin' It Back

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title: "Workin' It Back" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["teddy-pendergrass-albums", "1985-albums", "albums-produced-by-glen-ballard", "asylum-records-albums"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workin'_It_Back" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

Field	Value
name	Workin' It Back
type	Album
artist	Teddy Pendergrass
cover	Workingitback.jpg
released	December 4, 1985
recorded	1984–1985
genre
length	37:09
label	Asylum
producer
prev_title	Love Language
prev_year	1984
next_title	Joy
next_year	1988
misc	{{Singles
name	Workin' It Back
type	studio
single1	Love 4/2
single1date	1985
single2	Let Me Be Closer
single2date	1986
::

| name = Workin' It Back | type = Album | artist = Teddy Pendergrass | cover = Workingitback.jpg | alt = | released = December 4, 1985 | recorded = 1984–1985 | studio = | genre = | length = 37:09 | label = Asylum | producer = | prev_title = Love Language | prev_year = 1984 | next_title = Joy | next_year = 1988 | misc = {{Singles | name = Workin' It Back | type = studio | single1 = Love 4/2 | single1date = 1985 | single2 = Let Me Be Closer | single2date = 1986 Workin' It Back is a studio album by the American R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass, released in 1985. It was his second record for Asylum Records. The album didn't do nearly as well on the Billboard 200 as his last record, peaking at No. 96. It did reach US R&B No. 6, only two spots lower than his previous album. The album spawned two singles, "Love 4/2" (No. 6 R&B) and "Let Me Be Closer" (No. 67 R&B), though none made the Billboard Hot 100. The album has been certified gold.

Production

Pendergrass cowrote and coproduced two of the album's songs.

Critical reception

|rev1 = AllMusic |rev1score = |rev2 = Robert Christgau |rev2score = B+ |rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |rev3score = |rev4 = The Philadelphia Inquirer |rev4score = |rev5 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide |rev5score = The Globe and Mail wrote that "the spasmodic anguish of the final cut, 'Love Emergency', is the most innovative song on the album, with the backup male chorus growling a chant over the groove as the background to Pendergrass's vocal flights." The Gazette thought that "even the Womacks can't raise a head of steam from the one-time Sound of Philadelphia."

Track listing

1. "Love 4/2" (Pendergrass, James Carter, Nathaniel Lee)
2. "One of Us Fell in Love" (Adrian Baker, Eddie Seago)
3. "Never Felt Like Dancin'" (Dennis Matkosky, Monty Seward)
4. "Let Me Be Closer" (Pendergrass, Linda Creed, Dennis Matkosky, Bill Neale)
5. "Lonely Color Blue" (Cecil Womack, Linda Womack)
6. "Want You Back in My Life" (Glen Ballard, Clif Magness)
7. "Workin' It Back" (Clif Magness, Ellen Schwartz, Roger Bruno)
8. "Love Emergency" (Cecil Womack, Linda Womack)

Personnel

• Teddy Pendergrass - vocals
• Ron Jennings, Paul Jackson Jr., Bill Neale, Cecil Womack, Clif Magness - guitar
• Neil Stubenhaus, Doug Grigsby, Cecil Womack - bass
• Dennis Matkosky - keyboards, synthesizer, drum programming
• Monty Seward - synthesized guitar
• Larry Williams - bass synthesizer
• Randy Kerber - acoustic and electric piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer
• Alan Pasqua, Eddie "Gip" Noble, Linda Womack - keyboards
• John Robinson, Raymond Pounds, James Gadson - drums
• Michael Mason - drum overdubs
• Paulinho da Costa - percussion
• Joel Peskin - saxophone
• Tenita Jordan, Lynn Davis, Shirley Jones, Stephanie Reach, Monty Seward, Tammie Taylor, Clydene Jackson, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Vanessa Townsell, The Womack Congregation - backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1985–1986) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (1986)	Position	US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
20
::

References

References

1. (March 3, 1986). "Jet's Top 20 Albums". Johnson Publishing Company.
2. Pareles, Jon. (January 14, 2010). "Teddy Pendergrass, R&B Soul Singer, Dies at 59". The New York Times.
3. "Teddy Pendergrass Biography & History".
4. "Teddy Pendergrass".
5. "RIP Teddy Pendergrass, 1950-2010".
6. (June 23, 1986). "Teddy Pendergrass Says, 'Don't Feel Sorry For Me; Listen To My Songs'". Johnson Publishing Company.
7. [{{AllMusic
8. "Teddy Pendergrass".
9. (2006). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". MUZE.
10. (22 Dec 1985). "Teddy Pendergrass Workin' It Back". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
11. (1992). "The Rolling Stone Album Guide". Random House.
12. (2 Jan 1986). "Workin' It Back Teddy Pendergrass". The Globe and Mail.
13. (21 Nov 1985). "Teddy Pendergrass Workin' It Back (Asylum)". The Gazette.
14. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1986".

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